


Don't Let Them Know

by moonwillow27458



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Sam, M/M, Multi, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-06
Updated: 2015-12-06
Packaged: 2018-05-05 07:29:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5366516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonwillow27458/pseuds/moonwillow27458
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam hates going to parties with Cas' family. They don't know Sam and Cas are dating, and Sam's starting to feel a bit insecure because of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Let Them Know

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this on a tumblr post somewhere (I can't find it so when I do I'll link it)

As much as Sam loved Castiel, he couldn't extend that affection to Cas’ rather large, rather dysfunctional family. Cas’ family wasn't outright horrible to him or anything, but none of them knew about him and Cas, even though they’d been dating for a little over six months. This meant that Cas’ relatives were all a little funny about Sam being at their functions, believing he was only Cas’ best friend. For that, Sam hated being around them, especially with so much alcohol flowing.

Gabriel, Cas’ third oldest brother, had recently gotten engaged to a woman named Kali. She was sarcastic and broody, but nice when you got to know her. Sam had utmost respect for Kali for having to put up with Gabriel’s hijinks and pranks. Her smile was beautiful when she laughed along to her fiancés jokes, thinking no one was looking. They were a perfect couple, and Sam knew Gabriel would do anything for Kali, and that Kali would validate Gabe when others put him down.

Sam watched them with envy as they chatted with all the guests. There were a lot - Cas’ family was huge, and there were also Kali’s family and all of their friends to consider. An urge to grab Cas’ warm hand bubbled up in Sam, but he had to suppress it. He was unsure why Cas wouldn't tell his family about them (as soon as Cas had asked him out, Sam had texted his brother with the news). It wasn't like his family was homophobic. Cas’ sister, Anna, was dancing happily in the middle of the dance floor with her own girlfriend, Ruby. Aunt Naomi was even cooing over them as they swayed to the music.

With a sigh, Sam headed to the few tables in the corner of the ballroom, with Cas dutifully following him.

“What’s the matter?” Cas asked as Sam sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs. He sat across from Sam, taking hold of Sam’s hand in an encouraging way.

“I just feel a little left out,” Sam admitted. Quickly, he glanced around to check no one was in earshot of them. “Babe, I want to be part of your family - but they only see me as that weird friend who needs his own life.” Swallowing, Cas nodded and stroked his thumb over Sam’s clammy hand.

“Tell you what,” he started, a suggestive smirk on his face. “If you wait this out another hour or so, I’ll massage you anywhere you want on request for an entire week.” Sam’s eyes widened like a child in a candy store. He licked his lips, mulling it over.

“Deal,” he muttered eventually, pupils dilating slightly. He really loved Cas sometimes.

They sat with their fingers joined over the table for a couple of minutes. It was the most relationship-like thing they had ever done around Cas’ family, and Sam felt very freed. That was, until the unmistakable sound of high heels clacking came towards them. Hastily, Cas withdrew his hand from Sam’s as his sister strode over to the table, Ruby in tow.

“Hey, Cassie!” she yelled, obviously very drunk. “Can I talk to you over there for a minute?” Anna pointed towards an empty corner of the room, where the lights were dim and there was not even a chair or a balloon. Nodding, Cas stood up and meandered over to the corner, expecting Anna to follow him. Sam started to get up and follow Cas, but Ruby shook her head.

“Nope, Sammy, your ass is staying here,” Ruby smiled wickedly. Anna raised her eyebrows almost patronisingly at Sam, but said nothing as she headed for her brother.

Ruby sat in Cas’ chair, kicking her legs out and lifting them onto the table. Her fishnet tights and short black skirt did barely anything to hide her panties, and Sam ended up with an unfortunate eyeful before Ruby slowly crossed her legs. Sam rolled his eyes at her, hated how flirtatious she was despite being with Anna. Raising her eyebrows suggestively, Ruby offered a coy smirk.

“You two seemed to be getting a bit cosy there,” she snorted, a subtle head nod towards Cas. Sam shrugged.

“He’s my friend, we’re close,” he answered shortly, not in the mood for her games. He couldn't tell Ruby; she’d tell Anna, who would in turn tell the rest of the family. There was too much at stake to tell her out of spite.

“Looked like you wanted more than friendship, buddy,” Ruby pushed, taking her legs off the table so she could lean closer to Sam. “Is Cas not putting out?”

“Ruby, drop it, alright?” Sam nearly pleaded. Ruby’s eyes turned sympathetic towards Sam, as if she felt sorry for him. Gulping, Sam smiled in return. “We’re not together, just friends.”

“I'm sorry,” Ruby said plainly. Sam nodded, glad Ruby was being kind for once.

Anna strutted back towards them, a weary Cas following her. She could barely walk in her high heels, and nearly tripped as she reached the table again. Sighing, Cas sat down beside Sam and placed a hand on Sam’s thigh under the table so Anna and Ruby couldn’t see.

“See you, Sam,” Anna smiled pleasantly at Sam, then turned to her brother.

“Remember what I said.”

Grimacing, Cas nodded with a tight smile.

Anna grabbed hold of Ruby’s hand, pulling her up from the chair. A quick nod to Sam, and Ruby was toddling off after her girlfriend, boots clicking loudly on the floor as she left. Gently, Cas squeezed Sam’s thigh, comforting him slightly.

“I need alcohol,” Cas muttered distantly, eyes on the bottle of champaign Kali was holding. Humming in agreement, Sam stood up and held his hand out for Cas to follow. Understanding Sam’s intentions, Cas grabbed hold of Sam’s hand to pull himself up, and held it tightly as they walked up to the crowd. Only as they reached a lit area did Cas let go of Sam, holding his hand behind his back. Sam tried to ignore the way his heart dropped and hurried forward to grab a drink of champagne.

He didn't stop drinking until Cas dragged him home at 2am.

 

The first thing Sam felt when he woke up was pain. He started writhing on the bed, trying to get warm despite how cold he felt. Pain exploded his head in a splintering headache, and then, frowning, he fell back asleep. He tried to bury his face into Cas, but Cas wasn't there. His sleep was fitful.

He woke up a bit later, head still throbbing in a dull ache. Groaning, he rolled over to find that, again, Cas wasn't in his bed. Sighing, he finally opened his eyes to find the blinds closed and the room (thankfully) dark. He leaned over the bedside table to check the time, but instead Sam found a glass of water and some ibuprofen. With a smile he eagerly gulped them down, pills working almost immediately to dull the pain in his head.

He checked the time and saw that it was well past his usual wake up time. For once, he was glad Charlie had asked to switch shifts with him, even if it meant rushing to work straight after classes. Grunting like a Neanderthal, Sam rolled over. The last thing he heard was Cas speaking on the phone with someone.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” Cas muttered, tucking a stray strand of hair behind Sam’s ear. Slowly, Sam blinked his eyes open to adjust to the light. A wide smile spread on his face when he saw Cas looking down at him. Cas matched the smile.

“Hey, babe,” Sam mumbled lazily, pawing at Cas’ back to pull him into a hug. “Head hurts.”

“That’s because you got hammered,” Cas chuckled, falling to the bed beside Sam and hugging into his side.

“’m lucky Charlie covered my shift,” Sam murmured into Cas’ ear, snuggling deep into the covers. He wrapped both of his arms around Cas, legs soon following, like an octopus. “Now I get to spend the whole day with you.” Smiling, Cas started to stroke a hand through Sam’s soft hair, humming with content at the idea of spending the day with his boyfriend. Teasingly, he tugged a strand of hair, a mischievous smirk on his face.

“Not until you get in the shower. You smell like your brother after a weekend in Vegas,” Cas replied. With a groan, Sam started to pull himself up and head for the bathroom. Nothing could keep him from Cas.

Once he was washed and mostly dry save for his damp hair, he stumbled downstairs into the kitchen.

As he crossed the threshold, he could smell bacon cooking. His stomach growled when he saw Cas stood by their stove, frying up a greasy breakfast for them both. Pleasantly surprised, Sam snuck up behind Cas and wrapped his arms around his waist tightly. For a second, Cas leaned back into the hold, before bumping Sam out of the way.

“Stay back, oil's going everywhere,” Cas warned, shifting the pan a little to demonstrate the spitting grease. “Are you even wearing a shirt?”

“Not yet,” Sam sniffed, shuffling out of the kitchen to the utility room. “Couldn't find my comfy shirt,” he yelled just loud enough so Castiel could hear him in the other room. When he heard Cas hum in reply, Sam began to root around in the dryer for his shirt. Eventually he spotted his purple dog shirt and pulled it on as he walked back to Cas.

Cas met him at the doorway with a plate piled high with food. He had a proud smile on his face as he handed it to Sam. They moved to the dining room table, where Sam sat down in the first seat and Cas sat beside him, knees touching. Sam’s stomach growled, reminding him how hungry he was, and so he began to wolf down the feast Cas had prepared.

By the time Cas had eaten a quarter of his plate, Sam had finished. He didn't get up, however, instead waiting for Cas to be done too. While Cas continued to eat, Sam talked to him about all sorts of things. At the right moments, Cas hummed and snorted, and once he told Sam about their drunken antics at the party the night before. It was a nice meal, and though Sam felt his stomach knot when they spoke about Cas’ family, he was glad to finally remember most of the night before.

When Cas finally finished his breakfast, Sam collected their plates together to take them to the kitchen. He dumped them on the side to clean later - they could wait. As he turned to leave the kitchen, he saw a date circled on their calendar, with “date” scrawled in the centre in Cas’ handwriting.

They never had a date night on a Saturday. Sam was always working either Saturday night or Sunday morning, so they never bothered with dinner dates. So who was Cas supposed to be having a date with on Saturday?

Confused, Sam marched into the dining room to confront his boyfriend.

“You’re going on a date on Saturday?” Sam accused, tears already starting to form in his eyes. Cas looked up from his phone, surprised by Sam’s shaky voice.

“Yeah,” Cas shrugged casually, before returning his eyes to his phone. Sam’s heart stopped for a second, but he didn't say anything else. When Cas realised Sam was looking for an explanation, he said, without looking up from his phone, “Anna set me up with one of her friends.”

“And you’re just gonna go?” Sam snapped.

“Well, Anna thinks I'm single, so I kind of have to,” Cas replied, finally putting his phone down on the table to properly talk to Sam.

“No you don’t! You could have said no thank you,” Sam replied angrily. A tear slid down his face, and he quickly wiped it away before Cas could see how upset he was.

“She’s my little sister,” Cas argued, sighing at Sam in a frustrated way.

“Yeah, and I'm supposed to be your boyfriend!” Sam yelled. He turned away so he wouldn't have to look at Cas’ uncaring face.

“It’s only one stupid blind date, Sam. It’s not like I'm breaking up with you,” Cas snorted.

“But you’re happy to go out with someone else?” Sam questioned, betrayal clear in his tone of voice.

“It doesn't mean anything,” Cas tried to laugh, but he was clearly struggling to comfort Sam’s insecurities.

“Does this mean that this, whatever we have, doesn't mean anything to you either?” Sam started to sob openly. He took a seat across from Cas and stared down at the table.

“Of course you mean something,” Cas gulped, rushing around to hug Sam tightly. Despite his anger, Sam huddled into Cas’ chest and his tears began to dry a little.

“Then cancel the date,” Sam begged, no more than a whisper.

“Why does this bother you so much?” Castiel moaned, immediately letting go of Sam.

“Because I love you, Cas, and apparently you don’t love me back enough to say no thank you to a date with a stranger!” Sam yelled, standing up so fast that his chair fell to the ground. There was a heavy silence in the room, with only Sam’s heavy breathing and the faint passing of cars outside to disturb them. It took a second for Sam to realise what he said, but when he saw Cas’ jaw drop, he realised he’d messed up.

Neither of them had said “I love you” yet. Not in the six months they’d been together or in the twelve years of friendship before that. Sam’s insecurities - and his past relationships - had stopped him from rushing into this one. But he couldn't help loving Castiel.

“You… you love me?” Cas stuttered, blush present on his face. Sam scrunched up his face, embarrassed with himself, and turned away from his boyfriend.

“I really do, Cas but if you don’t, then -” Sam started, fully prepared to tell Cas that it was okay if he didn't love him. Then, Cas spun him around and kissed him on the lips, cutting off whatever he was about to say.

“Of course I do, you idiot, why wouldn't I?” Cas smiled as he pulled away, burying his face in Sam’s neck. Sam clung onto him like a safety blanket.

“Because we haven’t told anyone we’re together,” Sam muttered into Cas’ soft hair. He snuggled into Sam even more. “It’s been 6 months and it’s like you don’t care.” Sam willed himself not to cry again, but it was a losing battle. Lowering his head, Cas sighed shamefully, before pulling away just the slightest. He grabbed a gentle hold of Sam’s hand and walked them to the living room, where he made them both sit on the couch.

“I do care, Sam. I care about you, and your smile, and your big forgiving heart. I care about this relationship,” Castiel spoke softly, a lovesick smile on his face. He took a deep breath and looked Sam in the eyes. “If it’s what you want, I’ll tell Anna tomorrow that I already have a boyfriend and that Hannah will have to wait.”

“Thank you.” Sam fell into Cas, swallowing him in a bear hug. They curled up on the couch, Castiel stroking though Sam’s still damp hair until his sobs stopped.

With whispers of “I love you” over and over again, Sam fell back asleep in Cas’ arms.

 

A few months later, another party rolled around, this time celebrating Anna and Ruby’s engagement. Gabriel and Kali’s wedding was coming up in a few weeks, and Raphi was nearly due with her pregnancy. But despite all the excitement surrounding Cas’ family, the announcement that Sam and Cas had been dating for nearly eight months was the news of the night.

All of the members of Cas’ family surrounded Sam, picking him and poking him until he snapped. If he had to answer another ‘what do you do for a living?’ or ‘what are you planning on doing with your college degree?’ he would actually kill a man. Castiel’s mother was the worst, asking any question she could think of. Thankfully, Cas’ Uncle Chuck was stood close by to keep handing Sam drinks while Cas tried to fend his parents off.

Eventually, he pushed himself through the crowd of people and hurried onto the balcony outside. There were some tables he could sit at, but still be close enough to the ballroom to be warm - his suit wasn't the warmest thing he owned. As he buried his head in his hands, he heard two sets of footsteps walking towards him. He looked up to see Gabriel and Kali stood beside him.

“Hey, kiddo,” Gabriel winked at him, before sitting across from him on the bench table. Kali quickly followed, heels clacking on the stone cold floor. “Cas is fighting them off for ya.” Sam nodded, still clearly stressed. Kali flashed a soft smile in sympathy.

“You should be lucky Castiel kept you hidden from them for so long,” Kali muttered. “Gabriel introduced me after four dates and they asked me how many kids we were planning.” She sent her fiancée a death glare, under which Gabriel began to sweat nervously.

“I never thought about it like that,” Sam mumbled. “I just thought he was ashamed of me or something.” He shrugged, looking off the balcony over the acres of fields the Novak’s owned. No matter how long he’d known Castiel, Sam would forever be in awe of the stately home that belonged to Cas’ Grandmother.

“Are you kidding me? The first day you made friends with him, he wouldn't shut up about it,” Gabriel snorted, slapping a hand down on the table. “Every day for the next year or something, it was all Sam this, Sam that, Sam’s the smartest in the year. For Christ’s sake, I'm surprised Mom didn't realise sooner. I mean, it’s not like either of you were subtle with the eye fucking.” Sam’s eyes widened and he felt his face warm. He hadn't realised his crush on Cas had been so obvious, or that Cas had liked him back.

“Honey, we knew,” Kali smirked, reaching over and placing a comforting hand on Sam’s. However kind she was being, it still felt very condescending. “Anna and Ruby knew too. We didn't want to bring it up in front of his Mother before you.” Nodding, Sam laughed a little awkwardly at Kali’s words. He sat up a little as he saw Cas walking over to him, Anna and Ruby following behind.

As Cas got to the table, he stopped by Sam and though he didn't ask Gabriel to move, Gabe and Kali got up. Kali nodded at Sam before swaggering off, Gabriel quickly in tow. No matter what Kali did, Gabe had an awestruck expression on his face - Sam knew the feeling. Cas sat down in the seat Gabe had been sat in, grabbing hold of Sam’s hand over the table.

“Glad you two finally got your heads out of your asses,” Ruby smirked, perching on the very edge of the table, legs parted just slightly. Anna stood in the space Ruby had made for her and leant in to press a kiss on Ruby’s painted lips.

“Yeah, what took you so long?” Anna questioned once she had pulled away. “Seriously, we all knew. Why wouldn't you just tell us, Cassie?”

“Did you not see them all mobbing him? I was worried about him,” Cas replied, stroking a thumb gently over Sam’s hand.

“Oh, right. The idiots,” Anna snickered a little. “Yeah, Sam, watch out for Luci. He can be a bit crazy sometimes - tried it on with Ruby, Kali. Every time one of us has brought home someone, he’s been there to hit on them.” Ruby hummed in agreement, before pulling Anna down for another kiss.

In the ballroom, someone started to call Anna over for a toast or something. She sighed, rolling her eyes at her family before pulling Ruby up off of the table. Hands clasped together, Anna and Ruby trailed over to the crowd in the room. The music stopped as they got to the centre of the family.

“I'm sorry we had to keep this a secret for so long. I do love you,” Cas muttered, leaning close to Sam. He wrapped an arm around Sam’s shoulder, pulling them together. “I bet you’re glad now though, avoiding my parents.”

“You can say that again,” Sam joked, planting a sloppy kiss on Cas’ cheek. It was a lie though. No matter how overbearing Cas’ family was, Sam wouldn't trade him for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [ casnsammy ](http://casnsammy.tumblr.com) on tumblr for beta'ing this for me <3
> 
> Thank you for reading, I really hope you liked it
> 
> If you did, please leave kudos
> 
> Message me [ here ](http://benevolentsam.tumblr.com/ask) if you a prompt filling in or something (or just want to talk headcanons I'm down for that)


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